Wrexham are gearing up to face Shrewsbury Town on Thursday evening and Phil Parkinson could welcome back a key player.
Wrexham haven’t played a game for nearly two weeks now and fans will be itching to get to Thursday night.
Phil Parkinson’s side make the short trip to Shrewsbury Town with Wrexham looking for a derby day win.
Wrexham beat Shrewsbury 3-0 at the STōK Cae Ras earlier this season and are now looking to repeat the trick on the road.
Shrewsbury boss Gareth Ainsworth has praised Wrexham’s growth under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds but a local derby can be a fine leveller.
Wrexham need to turn up and approach this game properly with Shrewsbury fighting for their lives at the bottom of the League One table.
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Phil Parkinson on Jack Marriott
Wrexham will have firepower in Parkinson’s squad with Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin likely to start in attack.
Recent super-sub Steven Fletcher has been in great form and may well come off the bench once again on Thursday night.
Wrexham may even have a returning face available with Jack Marriott nearing a return to action.
Marriott picked up an injury in October and was expected to miss around four months of action.
The striker now appears to be ahead of schedule with Parkinson claiming Marriott was getting ‘ever closer’ just last week.
Parkinson has now told BBC Sport that Marriott is not only back in full training but he is looking ‘really sharp’.
Parkinson noted that Marriott has been going through a ‘mini pre-season’ to get up to speed but now feels ready to play again.
The Wrexham boss added that Marriott’s return is ‘great’ news as he had started the season in ‘terrific’ fashion.
“It’s been a huge bonus getting Jack Marriott on the training pitch this week – he’s looking really sharp,” said Parkinson.
“When I say on the training pitch that’s in full training and for the last two weeks he’s been working hard. He’s had a mini pre-season and he’s looking fit. He’s been knocking on the door saying ‘come on, I’m ready’. That’s great for us because he had a terrific start to the season,” he added.
Jack Marriott can give Phil Parkinson something to think about
Wrexham want to sign another striker in the January transfer window with Parkinson seeking more attacking firepower.
Reports on Tuesday suggested that Wrexham will make a move for Michael Smith in an effort to sign the Sheffield Wednesday striker.
Smith would add another real goal threat to the Wrexham squad but Marriott will be looking to show that Parkinson doesn’t need to sign another striker at all.
Marriott started the season with five goals in 10 League One outings, bringing some fine performances to the early weeks of the campaign.
Now nearing a return to action, Marriott will be looking to recapture that form quickly and potentially leave Parkinson either scaling back his attacking pursuit or ditching it entirely.